Hailing Justice
by ko-hi
Summary: [AUish, TWT] From their stands, they cheered for him. They called him the Daemon. They called him a Hero. He knew the mob was fickle, but while he had their support, he would exact his vengeance. For his family, for his Emperor, for his People.


_Blanket Disclaimer:  
All characters and settings of the InuYasha series are creative property of Rumiko Takahashi and the companies who hold license to its title._  
"_Gladiator" the movie is the property of DreamWorks, Ridley Scott (director), Laurie MacDonald, Walter F. Parkes, and David Franzoni (producers).  
These are used without permission, but the author of this fanwork does not make any profit from it._

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**Hailing Justice**  
by Heirloom  
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****Prologue**

The crowds' roar flooded as light accompanied the cacophony, streaming through the widening crack between the solid oak doors of the gate. Golden eyes sensitive to brightness squinted in an effort to quickly adjust and focus before being ushered out into the stadium. Dusty breeze fluttered long, ethereal silver strands, roughly blowing them to tug at the leather strap holding them in a high ponytail.

He blinked in the harsh sunlight, taking in the massive crowds with a frown. They only seemed to grow bigger – and dirtier – as his master traveled further along the road. From what he ascertained with his limited knowledge of these barbarians' language, he could only tell that they were headed somewhere important. Eventually. He didn't care. The only place important to him had long since been left behind, along with his heritage and family.

He'd once had a title. A name, even. Those too had been snatched from him at some point, but it was so long ago that at times he nearly forgot it. To these filthy barbarians, he was simply a slave, a means of entertainment. Nothing more. The indignity of his new position used to insult him, but he'd learned some time ago that any acknowledgement of the feeling led him down a long, nasty road to pain. The most valuable lesson had been learned through trial and mostly error: just play along.

As he caught the scent of his enemies, he furrowed his pale brow. They'd brought creatures along this time, feline – of all the exotic beasts they could choose – hidden under the hard dirt base of the stadium. They'd planned on the element of surprise. Didn't surprise him at all, as the game most of these circus runners seemed to enjoy these days was how they could kill "The Daemon." His group had been brought in without the luxury of weapons or armor this time.

"Daemon." Ironic that his pet-name had become something so close to what he actually was. But through his time learning snippets of the language, he'd found that his homeland's title for his race was rather different from this barbaric word. Daemon implied a sense of chaos and unruliness, whereas he, a youkai, had been raised with a sense of deadly grace and nobility.

He, Sesshoumaru, the former Lord of the Western Lands in his home country, would show these barbarians what a true Daemon could do. He would defeat these mere felines and their heavily armored masters. His Daemon master probably already knew what the outcome of this fight would be and had likely placed bets in his favor. The brute was greedy in that sense, and yet horrendously terrifying at the same time. Sesshoumaru had yet to defeat him to gain his own freedom, and as much as he longed to be back home, he needed this man's support in order to reach the one goal he'd set before allowing himself to stoop down to such barbaric levels.

Readying his instinctive weapon with a crack of his knuckles and an arrogant smirk, the green glow encompassed his hand just as the battle began. The crowds roared in their bloodthirsty glee, crying out his pet-name as a mantra. There would be blood shed to appease the gods of war, and the lust of the masses.

His field of vision narrowed, the crowd's cheers fading to white noise in the background, his prey in front of him ready to give chase. Excitement, adrenaline, and a hint of remorse sent tingles down his spine and to his fingertips. The end of this fight would bring him one step closer to his objective. And end this fight he would.

With a horrifying cry, he surged forward with his comrades into the arena, fangs bared and claws extended. Finish the fight before it began.

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**A/N:** Quick notes. This is marked AU, but I will try to bring in the canon as much as possible. Definitely will be TWT (timeline? What timeline?) in terms of the InuYasha series. This is influenced by the movie _Gladiator_ (2000), but this isn't a direct crossover between the movie and the InuYasha series. 

"Daemon" is an older spelling of "Demon," which is what Viz has translated "youkai" as. The Japanese concept of "youkai" is rather different from the Western concept of "demon," so I will separate the two. I will strive to keep Sesshoumaru in character as much as possible (as he is the central character in this story).

Comments are much appreciated.


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